Give Me Love
by Vahkhiin
Summary: His eyes never leave her and hers never leaves his when she finds him in the crowd. Beth finds her way to Terminus and the first thing she seeks out whilst Maggie embraces her is him. Bethyl.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I'm beginning to think that I'm turning into an obsessive fan of the Bethyl ship. I was actually a Daryl/Carol supporter until recent TWD episodes. Anyway, I came up with another Bethyl reunion fic again and hope you all like it. I thank you all who reviewed/read/favoured the other fic I wrote 'She Made It'. I considered making that one a multi-chapter but eh, my ability to maintain chapter fics are non-existent. I hope I haven't disappointed a few of you!

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His eyes never leave her and hers never leaves his when she finds him in the crowd. She's being embraced by Maggie and all the others are around her. They're welcoming her home. They're checking if she's alright and they're all asking her a million questions. It wouldn't be right of him to push his way through them to be there with her no matter how much he might want too.

It wouldn't be right to push them away and check her himself and make sure that she was alright. It wouldn't be right of him to take her in his arms and hold her close right there in front of all of them. It wouldn't be right because it isn't. She wasn't his. She didn't belong to him. They never really had anything going on between them before she was taken from him. They just had a new found friendship and something else that he didn't really understand but yet felt when she had looked at him that night in the house before it all went to shit.

But now that the others were here and she was here and him too, it just wouldn't be right. They had many years between them and the others would never understand.

No, they would never get it. They will never understand the things that ran through his mind when he ran out there to the dirt road to see a car driving away and her things lying on the floor. They will never understand why he ran for as long as he did and why he collapsed between crossroads so hopelessly.

They will never understand why he didn't just kill those people; the ones that came across him and threatened him but yet took him in and survived with him anyway. They were not good people, he knew that much, but fighting them was useless. They would have overpowered him easily and he didn't have the strength to do that not after having run as far as he did.

With every night that passed he thought of her. He looked out for signs of her even though he knew it was worthless to even hope that she was still alive. He dreamt about her, saw her in his dreams and saw her every time he closed his eyes too. It came to a point where she almost became this little beacon of hope for him. He escaped the bad people the day after he realised that and it wasn't easy and it was difficult, but he thought that he'd rather die trying to find her than survive with those people.

He found Terminus three days later and found the others here too. But she still wasn't here. Maggie never blamed him and he knew the others didn't either. But he did and that was enough reason for him to stand here now far away from her keeping that distance that she probably wants from him because he failed her when she needed him most. He should have been there to keep her safe and protect her. He should have been there to shield her from the evil that the world had become. But in the end she stood alone on that dirt road in the night and was taken from him.

He hadn't saved her or found her like he was going to do or at least die trying to do. He failed her.

But it's funny now when he thinks about it because up until her eyes caught his she looked restless. She looked unsettled and worried and troubled even though everyone she thought was dead was alive and around her. He watched the way she looked around at all of them as if she were trying to seek someone out. It wasn't until she had found him standing there in the distance when she settled almost immediately as if he had that sort of an effect on her.

He saw the relief in her eyes, the joy and something else he doesn't quite know. But her eyes were warm and soft and she never tore her eyes away from his. She doesn't look away even when the others are talking to her and asking her a million questions. She blinks, he thinks, but it doesn't matter because the fact is that she's looking at him as if he's still her whole world. She's looking at him as if he's saved her and he hasn't, obviously because he's been here in Terminus for days and she's only just made it here.

She's looking at him as if she's still reminding him that he is still a good person. She's still looking at him as if nothing had changed since that night in the house by the graveyard. She's still looking at him as if she cares. She's looking at him as if she understands and knows of everything he went through after she was taken from him.

He wants to look away and tear his eyes away from hers. But her gaze has a hold on him like nothing he has ever felt before. Her blue eyes aren't innocent and young anymore. There's a storm in them, a certainty that he has never seen before and things that she wants to say to him but will not say right now until everything has settled.

But that is for another time to think about. Now there are far better things for him to be thinking about because in the span it took for him to think of how much he didn't deserve her attention to getting lost in her gaze, he sees her pushing through the others and making her way to him. They're all collectively surprized about her turn of attention but they all seem to understand when they see him and when they see her going to him.

He wants to walk away. He wants to run. But he stays there because this is Beth. This is the very same one that had somehow managed to crumble the walls around his heart. This is the same Beth who taught him how to feel something again. The very same Beth that calmed him down when he got angry and decided shouting at the top of his lungs for all the walkers to hear was a good idea.

And for the first time in his life Daryl doesn't care that he has an audience. He doesn't care even though he knows he'll have a million questions to answer later on. He knows he doesn't deserve all of this. He knows that Merle is probably rolling around in his grave at the thought of his baby brother being captivated by a woman. He knows that if Hershel were here he would greatly disapprove too. But in the height of the whole moment and the feeling and the strange warmth that's running through his veins, he doesn't have the heart to walk away from her.

He's sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close before he really knows it. She's sliding into him and holding him and pressing into him as if this was where she wanted to be all along. His eyes are closed and he doesn't understand how something as innocent and as pure and strong as her could ever want to hold someone like him. But for now he lets himself forget that he doesn't' deserve this.

For now he lives entirely in this moment. He doesn't plan his next moves or thinks about whether he should tune his crossbow or sharpen his knife later. He doesn't think about making plans about going back out there to look for her like he had been earlier. He doesn't think about anything really at all other than how strangely right it feels to be finally holding her.

He isn't feeling the breeze blowing on his face or listening to the sound of familiar voices in the distance. He is only listening to the comforting sound of her evened breathing. He's letting himself feel everything that a man like him should not feel and should not deserve to ever feel.

But emotions and righteousness be damned, he is enjoying this moment. She seemingly doesn't intend to let him go any time soon and he is perfectly fine with that. He hasn't held a woman in the longest time and what little memories he had of holding women before the walkers were because he was about to bed them.

This was different though. This time he's holding a woman he actually cares about. He's holding a woman that he would die for. He's holding a woman that he'll strive to protect and keep safe and shield from every single danger that's left in this world. He didn't do it well in the past month but he will from now on or he'll die trying.

"'m sorry," is all he manages to say to her after the longest moments of silence of holding her.

"Was never your fault," her reply is as soft and simple as his apology.

He's standing outside the room where Beth is being checked over by one of the doctors for no real reason or purpose other than to stand guard for her because he feels compelled too. The others never questioned it and he didn't bother to explain. He had hoped that from their rather public embrace they would have understood.

Maggie being with her sister in the room eases his mind a little and he worries less but stands there straight and keeps an eye on everything. He knows that sooner or later Maggie will come to speak to him and he is partly ready for this but yet nervous all the same.

He's leaning against the wall and staring at the ground thinking about everything that has happened when Maggie opens the door to the room and walks out. She doesn't appear to want to talk to him at first which makes him think that she's just stepped out for a moment to let Beth dress or something. But after Maggie looks through the blinds to make sure that everything is in order she turns to him.

"You don't have to stand guard, you know," she tells him.

"Want too," he says it bluntly and shrugs.

She doesn't say anything for a while and he wonders if he should actually be the one to say something. But conversing like this isn't his sort of a thing or at least it isn't with anybody else other than Beth. He doesn't find it difficult to converse with Beth anymore.

"Beth's different," Maggie comments and her tone he notes isn't threatening. It's gentle and reassuring and strangely comforting too.

"Lots'a things have happened to her since the prison," he says and continues to stare at the floor.

Maggie doesn't say anything again and he progresses to stare at the space in front of him and not in anything in particular.

"I never did thank you properly," Maggie starts and he glances at her as she continues, "For looking out for her and keeping her safe after the prison."

That's when he looks away again and back at the floor again. "We both know I didn't do that so well."

"You did what you had to do," Maggie tells him simply and continues after a pause, "The walkers pushed in the door and you told her to run."

"I wasn't there when she needed me most," he admits quietly and looks to Maggie.

"She's here now," Maggie says, "She's alright and she made it here because of everything you taught her."

He shrugs but feels a momentary swell of pride at the thought that maybe he still had a hand in saving her even though he wasn't physically there to save her.

"That's got to count for something, right?" Maggie says softly and smiles at him.

He doesn't say anything but he nods and glances away.

"I never blamed you when you told me about her being taken," she tells him simply.

"But I did," he says simply.

"Well," Maggie starts with a smile, "She's here now and I'm sure she ain't gonna let you continue thinking like that."

He can't help but smile at that.

"Anyway," Maggie yawns and tells him, "I'm going to hit the hay. You'll be here to keep an eye on her I'm sure."

He nods. Maggie gives him a smile and turns and walks away. It takes a few more minutes until the door swings open and the doctor steps out.

"She alright?" he asks without waiting for the doctor to say anything.

"Other than a few cuts and bruises and that sprained ankle, she's all good," the doctor tells him.

"She wasn't…?" he asks, not really wanting to say it.

"No," the doctor shakes his head, "From what she told me, she escaped before any of that could have transpired."

He feels relieved but doesn't show it. He nods appreciatively at the doctor before the doctor walks away. He pushes the door open and finds her standing by the window staring out at the sky. He feels strangely like a boy again when he steps into the room and looks the back of her. She turns at the sound of the door and smiles when she sees him.

"Thought you might want some company," he says and realises that his voice sounds softer than it usually does.

"Thanks," she says quietly and turns back to look out the window.

He takes a step and then two and a few until he's beside her. He leaves a distance between them and leans against the edge of the window and glances out there. Terminus looks a little bit like Woodbury minus the Governor and the crazy things they did. It looked like a little self-functioning and proper surviving town that was safe. Safe enough for her.

It happens so fast that he doesn't really have time to react but when it does it takes him a moment to realise that she's closed the space between them and is leaning onto his shoulder. He can feel the side of her chest pressed into the back of his right arm. She feels warm and nice and she smells far too much like perfection that he doesn't quite know what to do with himself.

He stands there awkwardly and doesn't move, frozen by the mere contact. It takes him a moment to collect himself together before he curls his right arm around her shoulder and pulls her close. This is probably the most romantic and most domestic thing he has ever done in his life but it feels right. It doesn't scare him like he thought it would.

He's offering her comfort and a little warmth, he tells himself. He's doing this for her to keep her safe and let her know without really saying anything that he isn't going to ever let anyone take her away from him again. That's when he feels her arm sliding around the back of his waist. They're standing as if they've already established something intimate and he could only imagine what this would look like in someone else's eyes. But he can't find it in himself to move away or push her away.

"Sometimes," she starts quietly, "I wish we were back there again."

"The prison?" he asks.

"No," she murmurs, "That house by the graveyard."

He tenses but then her hold around his waist tightens and he calms considerably. "Why?"

"Cause now that the group is back together you're going to be all grumpy, moody and business-like again," she says and he knows she is smiling.

"Wha-"

"After all the trouble I went too to make you relax," she sighs.

"I am relaxed," he tells her honestly.

"Not when you're with Rick and all of them," she tells him.

"The world's gone ta shit," he mumbles, "Someone's gotta keep their head focused."

"Well you weren't when we were in that shack drinking moonshine," she retorts playfully.

"That's different," he mutters.

"Because we were drunk?"

He keeps silent for a while and just listens to the sound of her breathing. He half expects her to say something but she doesn't or at least she doesn't until a few minutes later.

"I wonder if the others will understand," she sighs.

"Understand what?" he asks even though he already knows what she is going to say.

"This."

"This?" he asks and pulls back slightly so he can look at her properly.

"You don't feel it?"

He sighs as he slides his hand from around her shoulders because this shouldn't be happening. He mutters as he steps away, "I ain' right for you, Beth. You know that."

"You're the best that there is," she says, her tone low and laced with annoyance.

He runs a hand through his hair and sits on her bed. "I ain' a saint."

She doesn't say anything for the longest time and her silence slowly begins to scare him. But when he looks up he finds her looking at him. He watches as she takes a step toward him and stops just in front of him to place a soft small hand on his cheek.

"No," she murmurs, "You're not. But you're still a good man."

He feels a lump growing in the back of his throat and he doesn't know why he feels like crying. He doesn't know why he feels so weak all of a sudden and so vulnerable. He doesn't know why he isn't running away or why he hasn't walked away already. He doesn't know why he's still sitting there with her hand on his cheek and her eyes bearing down on him. He doesn't know why she would ever want to give him the light of day or why of all people she would want something like this with him.

He takes a leap of faith and slides a hand up the side of her arm and over her shoulder and stops when he's holding the side of her face. He presses his thumb lightly at her chin just below her lips and he looks up to her.

"Your daddy wouldn't have supported this if he were here," he tells her simply.

"Maybe, maybe not," she agrees, "But at least he'll rest easy in his grave now that he knows it's you."

"He isn't here t'judge," he tells her quietly.

"We'll never know for real so we'll settle with his unsaid blessing instead because that's all we can do," she murmurs and he finds that he can't quite fault her declaration.

That's all it takes for him to close the space between them and press his lips to hers. She's soft and warm and inviting and he still doesn't think he deserves any of this. But she kisses him back and slides an arm around his neck to pull him closer. She draws back after a while and presses her forehead against this.

"Your sister is going to kill me six ways to Sunday," he mutters to her.

She just smiles and presses her lips against his again.

_end._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Well... let me start off by saying I wasn't actually planning to evolve this one-shot into a multi-chapter story. But after reading all those wonderful reviews I started thinking I might just give this a shot. I'm completely in over heels with this Daryl/Beth shipping and I can't seem to get them out of my head. I don't know where this is heading and I don't have a plot planned because that's just how I roll. But stick around and I hope you enjoy!

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They're back on the road a week and a few days later.

He doesn't like it mostly because it means everyone he cares about is at risk again. But he can't find fault in the purpose of what they're doing and where they're heading. He stays closer to her though; doesn't let her out of his range of sight as best as he can or at least when she does he makes sure she's with someone he trusts before he lets her disappear from his range. It's silly, he knows, but after everything that's happened, after losing her to finding her and then kissing her, he just knows he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe and if he has to look silly about it in the process then so be it.

She doesn't seem to mind all that much, he finds. She lets him linger around and sometimes he wonders if she actually enjoys the fact that his eyes are often on her. She catches his eyes sometimes when he checks for her and she sends him a smile or if she's close enough she'll slide her hand into his, give his fingers a little squeeze and continue walking beside him.

Much like she's doing right now actually. They're tracking ahead in front of the others but not too far ahead. Her hand is in his holding onto him as if they'd done this very thing a million times already. It feels so natural to hold her hand that it doesn't even bother him anymore even though it's only been a little over a week since she found them at Terminus. He supposes though that with the way the world is, time really didn't matter all that much anymore.

He peers ahead at the woods that seem to look the same in every direction. But he knows what to look for. He recognizes the trees he's already seen and the trees that he hasn't. He knows which way is north and which is south, east or west. He knows how to read the woods like he knows that she's feeling a little cold walking beside him. He glances back now and spots the familiar shadow of Rick following with the others close behind him. He's quite sure if Rick and the others squint hard enough they'd still make out the shapes of him and her walking, closely.

The others never spoke much about it; didn't even ask him about what had changed between him and Beth. But he knew that they knew because every time they looked at him then looked at Beth they're eyes would soften. Maggie commented about it that first night Beth spent in the medical wing but never spoke about it again, just looked at them curiously and smiled. It was a little unnerving at first but Beth didn't seem to be bothered by it and he decided that this whole surviving business was far more important than wondering what the others thought.

Rick depended a lot on him and with Abraham in the picture and the others adding in their two cents worth he really didn't have time to wonder about what everyone else thought of him and Beth. He had the group's life in his hands and he really didn't have the time between the discussions and the talks and the conversations about their plans. The road to Washington DC was going to be a hard one and he knew it. They'd be out there in the harsh elements of each season and he was going to be damned if he didn't make sure every single one of them made it to Washington DC without harm.

But though he didn't care much about what the others thought he cared a lot about what she thought of him in those few days they had at Terminus. He felt a little easier when she would linger close when he had participated in those discussions with Rick and Abraham. He'd look up to find her looking at him and every time he looked at her his heart would soften just a little more each time. She was undoing the strings of pain and suffering strung around his heart so easily and she knew it too. Knew how she made him feel and always made it a point to remind him.

They hadn't acted differently though in those few nights they were at Terminus. They didn't kiss or hug or anything different at all when they were with the others. They just were exactly how they were when they were at the prison. But late in the night when mostly everyone was asleep he'd sit outside and she'd sit with him leaning her head on his shoulder listening to him breathing as his heart settled with the feeling of her warmth radiating beside him.

He doesn't think he'll ever understand how or why but being with Beth like that is easier than anything he has ever done in his life before. Holding her and kissing her and just enjoying the silence with her feels like second nature to him. But he hadn't ever felt like that for anyone before and how he is so easily able to slip into this entirely domesticated nature around her is strange but it feels so damn right to him.

They hadn't done anything more than kissing and to be perfectly honest he was quite content with just holding her more than anything. It was nice to have something to hold onto and something to smile about. Not that he could ever find it hard to smile about little ass kicker. But smiling at the thought of Beth was different. It was like feeling a balm of peace and calm blanketing over his uneasy soul.

"I've noticed something lately," her tone is soft but direct and it pulls him from his thoughts. He turns briefly to look at her.

That's another thing he notes about her. He's begun to notice that whenever he announces that he's going to track ahead she'll always make it a point to accompany him. It makes him wonder suddenly if she feels the same way in the sense that she doesn't want him out of her range of sight either. The thought makes him smile and he does so as he glances around them to make sure that no walkers might take them by surprise before he looks back her and offers her a hum in a manner of question, "Hmm?"

"You're different," she tells him quietly and shifts a little uneasily under her gaze.

"Lots 'ave happened," he mutters casually.

She doesn't say anything in response to that and he takes the opportunity to look ahead again. They're nearing the end of the day and he really rather they find four walls to rest within than sleep out in the open. Granted it was easier to sleep out in the woods with the large group and people to take turns watching. But Judith was prone to the occasional wail for no reason and dealing with a swarm of walkers in the middle of the night is not a very inviting thought.

They continue to walk for a while until she decides to speak up again.

"Not like that," she sighs beside him.

He side glances at her and murmurs a soft, "Like how?"

"You know," she offers with a shy smile.

His mind is suddenly filled with the memory of them sitting in that house by the graveyard and her asking him what had changed his mind. He wanted to tell her that it was her that had changed his mind about the people in this world. He smiles at that memory now because he knows what she's talking about. He feels the warmth seeping into his heart again. He looks away for a brief moment to check around them again before he looks at her.

"I know," he tells her simply and finds it amazing how they're able to have such an in depth conversation with so few words.

She looks away from him now to continue peering into the distance for a sign of anything. But he continues to look at her and sees the smile on her lips and seeing that makes him smile too. He tightens the hold around her hand and loses himself in the warmth that she's offering for a moment before he sighs and turns his eyes back to the woods.

They walk for what feels like half an hour before she spots a shack in the distance. She points it out to him when she first spots it and when he just stares at her and when she shifts uneasily under his gaze and asks him what's wrong, he kisses her just because he can. Her lips curl into a smile as he kisses her and when he pulls back he's smiling a little more than he ever has. She's grinning wildly as they make their way closer to the shack.

The shack is smaller than he hopes for but the four solid walls are certainly better than none. They stop a distance away from the shack though and he looks behind to see the others slowly catching up. They would have no doubt have seen their joined hands but he really can't find it in him to care. She doesn't let go of his hand and he doesn't either.

Maggie eye's him curiously when they're closer and he looks away, glances at the shack and then back to Rick who's standing off at the side not too far from where he and Beth are standing.

"Think it'll hold us up for the night?" Rick asks and looks at the shack. Carl's standing close to him and Michonne hovering near the kid with her hand on the hilt of her blade.

"Better than campin' out in the woods," he mutters back and Rick nods.

Glenn and Maggie are standing somewhere to Beth's right, he isn't completely sure. Tyrese is hovering near Rick and he has little ass kicker strapped to his back and Carol is lingering close. He still hasn't had a proper chance to speak to that woman yet. It seemed whatever passed between her and Tyrese when they were out on the road together was still very much there. But he pushes that to the back of his mind for now. He glances behind and sees the two soldiers and the scientist standing there looking at him. He can hear the soldier breathing and has to fight back the urge to roll his eyes. Abraham's a good enough sort of guy but his military mind set bothers him sometimes.

"Maybe a few of us should check it out first?" Carl speaks up and looks to his father who just nods at him.

"I'll check it out," Michonne says now and he looks at her.

He's about to say that he'll join her too but Beth speaks up first. "We'll come with you too."

He briefly catches a glimpse of Michonne raising her brow before he feels Beth pulling him along by their joined hands. He turns to look at Beth and then realises that he's suddenly in Maggie's direct line of vision. He looks at Maggie who looks at him piercingly. He feels uncomfortable and he's quite sure that everyone else has noticed this little split second moment of a thousand unspoken words directed at him. But he straightens himself because he can do this and he's Daryl Dixon and he knows he's supposed to have a certain flare about him. He isn't about to fold over just because it's Beth's that's suddenly pulling him along agreeing to go check out a site. He gives Maggie a reassuring look and she surprises by nodding at him as if to let him know that it's okay because she already trusts him with her little sister's life.

In retrospect when he really thinks about it he figures the others don't really have the right to judge. He and Beth had survived fine when they were together after the prison. Beth carried her weight just as much as he did. Maybe it was finally time they all looked at her as they did when they looked at him or at Rick or Glenn or Maggie or Michonne or pretty much everyone else in that camp. She wasn't just Judith's pseudo mother anymore. She's held her weight during the fight for the prison, survived when it fell, escaped and survived in the woods with him and even escaped the kidnapper that took her all those weeks ago when they were in that house by the graveyard. The fact that she was here alive and not dead spoke volumes to the woman she now is and has become.

He can feel all their eyes on his back and for the first time he doesn't feel as uncomfortable as he usually would. He feels a little stronger and better about it all with her walking beside him. It's strange but he welcomes it. He steps up beside her now and walks with her instead of behind her. She side glances at him and he offers her a nod.

He nods over at Michonne who nods in return and turns to make her way to the shack just a little ways in front of them. He sees three walkers hovering near the right of the shack. Maybe it isn't the best idea to let her come along with him, he thinks, but at the sight of her unsheathing her hunter's knife from her side and holding it in front of her, he thinks it'll be okay.

He feels her sliding her hand out from his just before he thinks about doing the same. He keeps one eye on her though and the other on the walkers. He adjusts the crossbow in his arms from where it had been sitting at his back and points it in the direction of the three walkers. He shoots one down in the head when he nears it and he sees her knifing the other in the head whilst Michonne slices the third's brain in half.

"Nicely done," he hears Michonne saying to Beth.

He bites back his grin by muttering, "'ere comes another one."

Michonne spins around to see another hobbling along toward them with one of its shoulder's practically falling off.

"Looks kind of sad," Beth comments as they watch Michonne slice its head off.

"Still," Michonne begins as she wipes her bloodied blade on the walker's dirty clothing, "better them than us."

"Yeah, I know," Beth sighs and turns her eyes to the shack.

Beth steps up on the little porch and peers into the dirty window with Michonne close behind. He looks at the closed door, looks to the left and right of the shack for any stray walkers. He doesn't find any and decides to direct his focus on the front door. But when he does he realises that Beth and Michonne are already half way to opening the door.

He tightens the hold on his crossbow as Beth swings the door open and steps back, shielding her body with the wall beside the door. Nothing comes running out but they all hear the familiar groan of a walker. He walks in first and glances around. It looks almost exactly like the shack he and Beth had burnt down all those weeks ago. The walls are worn and old and clearly have been slowly decaying since the walkers started taking over the world. He sighs when he finally spots the groaning walker with only half of its body and trying to crawl towards them. He unsheathes his knife and bends to stab it in its head.

"Bit of a tight squeeze but it's better than nothing," Michonne speaks up from somewhere behind him.

He stands and turns to see Beth looking around.

"Looks familiar, don' it?" he asks and Beth looks to him and smiles.

"I was just thinkin' that," she mutters.

"Am I missing something?" Michonne asks and looks between him and Beth.

He just smiles and she looks away and decides studying one wall panel in the shack is the most interesting thing in the world.

"Remember the moonshine stash?" he begins as he moves to the door to holler for Rick and the others to join them.

"What of it?" Michonne asks softly and leans against the other side of the door and glances outside as Rick and the others start moving.

"Innocence over there," he points behind him and glances back to see Beth directing him a pointed look, "Decided she wanted ta have her first drink."

"I thought that if I was going to die I'd like to have at least tasted alcohol," Beth says softly from behind them.

Michonne's eyes widen and she mutters to Daryl, "You gave her moonshine?"

"She handled it well," he tells her dryly as he gives Rick a firm nod before he turns to step toward where Beth is now sitting.

"You let her get drunk?" Michonne mutters which sounds more like a scolding than a comment, "When they're walkers out there?"

"He drank too," Beth says in a small voice and he smirks down at her. He casually places the crossbow down beside her and slides to the floor next to her.

Michonne stares at them for a good moment with everything from disbelief to amusement written in her eyes. She doesn't speak until they start to hear the familiar shuffling feet of their companions nearing the shack.

"The two of you," she starts softly and smiles over at them, "You're good for each other."

"I know," he says it without really realising he actually said it aloud and feels momentarily on the spot. But when he sees Beth smiling and looking at him warmly from beside him he shifts a little under her gaze and returns the smile.


	3. Chapter 3

******A/N: **To my horror I realised that I accidentally posted up the wrong version of chapter 3... This is my original AN that I had posted with it (kind of ironic) - I think I'm turning into this seriously obsessive sort of an author... I've re-written this chapter at least 4 times now and all 4 were different situations. I think I'm going insane. But I just want this to be so perfect...I was going to re-write it again tonight but meh, I think if I re-write it anymore I'll just be ruining it completely so I hope that this is somewhat okay even though this is the fourth version of chapter 3. Also, thank you for all your awesome reviews!

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_"You're all that's warm in my restless heart…"  
__Feather on the Clyde by Passenger_

Sometimes he finds that he can stare at her for hours. He doesn't literally ever stare at her for hours though but each moment he looks at her always feels like one and sometimes several more.

It doesn't matter what she's doing or what she might even be saying to him. He just stares and looks and memorises every feature of her face; every single crease when she frowns or her smile or when her eyes soften and when she looks at him warmly as if he is still her entire world. He always reminds himself that he doesn't deserve any of what she offers; that he doesn't deserve it when she kisses him or when she walks by his side and holds onto his hand. But yet he cannot find it in himself to turn her away or to tell her that she could do so much better than him. He cannot even begin to wonder anymore what it would be like if they hadn't escaped the prison together and discovered all of these feelings for each other.

Maybe he is being selfish. Maybe he is being greedy. Maybe. But he hasn't taken anything from her. He hasn't asked for anything at all. He only kisses her; only pulls her close at night and lets her sleep in his arms. He only breathes her in and closes his eyes and reminds himself that she's okay and that for another day he's managed to keep her safe. The others would usually be sleeping and at least one of them will be awake and keeping watch. But that doesn't stop him anymore. He still holds onto her; still keeps her warm and still presses his lips to her forehead when she sleeps.

She has made him into a man that he doesn't recognize anymore. But he isn't afraid to embrace it. He isn't afraid to wear his heart on his shoulder anymore. He isn't afraid to slide a hand around her waist and he isn't afraid to kiss her in front of them all. Maggie doesn't look at him oddly anymore even though it's only been a few weeks since he kissed Beth that night at Terminus. Nobody really cares all that much to give them a hard time about it either.

But they do look at them sometimes. The others think that he never sees them. But he always does. He always sees everything. Sometimes he'll see Carl smirk and Michonne looking at them as if she's pleased. He'd see Carol too a little ways away with a small smile on her lips as if she understands and is happy that something like that still exists in this world. Rick doesn't ever smile at them but he does see something flash in Rick's eyes; something like trust and a whole lot of respect too. Abraham and Eugene don't care too much to look but every now and then they do. The scientist would smile and something would shift in Abraham's eyes. Sometimes he swears the soldier looks a little softer. Tara and Rosita look every now and then and occasionally they stare a little longer and smile. Glenn always smiles as if he's won some kind of bet when he looks at them. And finally there's Maggie who doesn't smile but always looks at them as if she's seeing something pure and good.

He still hasn't spoken to Maggie about it; still hasn't asked her properly for her blessing. But more often than not now he doesn't think he needs too. He doesn't think he needs to ask to be with Beth because it doesn't really matter what anybody thinks. It doesn't come down to what Maggie has to say or doesn't have to say. It only matters what Beth feels and what she wants and what she seeks.

At least that's what he thinks now when he looks at her from across the camp. She has that ability and has that sort of strength over him to cease all thought in his head by just looking at her. It's like he's been staring at her for hours as he watches her sitting there with his crossbow in her lap and staring into their little crackling fire as if it was the most entertaining thing to do in this world. He figures she must be thinking from the way she still hasn't looked up to find him looking at her.

He moves from the shadows though and Carl now looks up at him and then down at the two dead rabbits in his hand.

"Nice," Carl remarks and he can't help but smirk.

He hands the rabbits off to Carl and mutters, "Cook 'em good."

"Michonne will know what to do with 'em," Carl tells him and turns to move away.

He doesn't bother to stare long after the kid. He turns his gaze back to where she is by the fire and he sees that she's finally seen him. Her eyes soften at the look he gives her and with that she offers him a smile too. He returns it with equal measure and he moves to make his way around the camp to her.

He moves quickly and swiftly and as he does he sees Maggie standing a ways from their little camp fire with Glenn. They're talking softly and she's laughing quietly. Maggie glances briefly at him and he nods as if to greet her. Maggie nods in return and flashes him a knowing smile. But he looks away now and back to Beth who is now looking into the flames again.

He looks around the camp again and into the forest even though he knows that Abraham and Rick are on first watch. He sees Tara, Rosita and Eugene a little ways away from the fire and Michonne sitting with them and Carl now there kneeling over and watching as Michonne's instructing him on how to skin the rabbits properly. He looks a little ways to the left of them and sees Carol sitting by a tree with Judith sleeping and Tyrese talking. He can't really hear them but Carol's looking very intently at Tyrese as he talks to her.

He's by her side now. It only ever took him seven steps to make his way to her. She's looking back into the flames again and he has an idea of what she may be thinking about. He thinks about sitting with her and staring into the flames. He thinks about holding her hand and letting her know without really saying anything that he's there and that she isn't alone. But when he sees her face; sees the expression on her face he just knows what to do. He stretches a hand down to her and she looks up at him.

"C'mon," he says softly and she takes his hand; trusts him so much that she doesn't even question his intentions.

She looks as if she's ready to sling the crossbow around her shoulders but he knows it's heavy and knows she doesn't really like carrying it all that much. He slips a hand into its strap and she looks to him and he pulls it from her lap first and straps it around his shoulder.

The sun's nearly gone but there's still an orange hue in the sky. There's a place a little ways away near where Carl had set those rabbit traps; a little cliff that is really more just like a step than anything else. But it's elevated and it's high enough for him to show her the sunset. He caught sight of it before and it was beautiful and really he just wanted to show it to her.

He pulls her up when she slips her hand into his and she's on her feet and lacing their fingers together. He lets a smile escape his lips and she sees it and smiles at him too. He presses a small kiss at her cheek and just tells her softly, "Want t'show you somethin'."

"Okay," she says softly and he leads them away from the little camp fire. But he stops short at where Rick and Abraham are standing in the shadows.

"We'll be back in a few," she tells them and he gives both men a nod before he pulls her into the darker depths of the forest.

They walk for a minute or two and he looks around for each mark he mentally placed there when he walked through the forest earlier to check those traps. He looks around too and is glad that there's still some shadow of light running through the forest. He doesn't see anything move; doesn't see any walkers and that makes him breathe a little easier. They've been lucky for a few days now for not running into a herd of walkers but just a few scattered throughout the forest.

She leans into his arm now, her fingers still tightly woven into his. He feels her chest pressing into the side of his arm and she feels so warm and inviting and he just wants to kiss her. But the sunset will be over soon and he doesn't want to miss it. Doesn't want to give up the chance to forget about everything for a moment and just enjoy watching the sunset with her.

"Where are we going?" she asks now softly as they walk.

He smiles at her and looks away from everything for a moment to lean in and kiss her temple. He pulls back and glances down at her smiling at him.

"Almost there," he murmurs.

They walk again in silence and he suddenly wonders if Hershel is watching them from up there. He wonders what Hershel would say to him. He wonders what Hershel would think. But when he spots the cliff up ahead he pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind. He looks around them carefully to make sure that there is nothing around them. He doesn't see anything and when he pulls her up onto the cliff and when she sees it he hears her gasp.

They stand there for a while with him looking around and behind them every so often. He wishes he could just focus on the sunset; wishes that he could just completely enjoy this moment without keeping a look out around them. But he'd rather skip a few minutes of the sunset to make sure that there are no walkers around them. He'd rather divert half of his focus on her and the other half on keeping them safe. As long as she enjoys this moment and as long as she can spend a moment to just forget about everything then he is perfectly fine with doing what he has to do to keep them safe.

But in the moment he spends to look around them to glance briefly at the sunset and then at her face he just stops. She looks beautiful in the orange hue of the sunset; the way her hair falls behind her and the way she looks as if she's the entire world and he's just another speck of dust on the wall. She turns to him now though; senses that he's looking at her and she smiles shyly at him. He sees her eyes soften again and warm and glow.

He leans in to kiss her and she meets him half way. She pulls back an inch after kissing him and she looks up at him and he feels her hand curling around his collar now. She does that a lot these days and every time she does, it sets something warm and glowing in him.

"I know we don' need t'say much to remind each other how we feel and all that," she starts off softly and leans in to kiss him lightly before she draws back and looks him dead set in the eyes and continues, "But I just got too…just this once."

Her words keep him there and he doesn't move; doesn't even shift from the way her eyes are staring up at him. His heart is so warm now and so complete that he briefly wonders how it is even possible to feel so much in so little time for one person. But he does and he knows she feels it too. It should all scare him; it should make him want to run from the very mere thought of it. But looking at her now and drinking her in and seeing the orange hue of the setting sun casting its shadow of her he doesn't think he could walk away even if he tried.

She smiles at him and murmurs ever so softly, "I'm fallin' in love with you."

It takes him forever to say something because though he had known what she was going to say he really didn't know how to react to it. So he did what he did best and he stares and watches and looks and feels his heart beating in his chest. He feels so warm now and so right and so completely perfect too. It's so cliché, so romantic and all that kind of shit but it's okay. It's alright. He's alright and he's okay and she loves him and he really couldn't be any luckier than that.

He still doesn't deserve any of this though; still doesn't deserve the way she's looking at him now as if he's more than just her entire world. He's too much of a coward though; too weak to actually tell her that she could do so much better than him. But then again maybe he isn't; maybe he just knows that nobody else could ever begin to keep her safe the way he always will. His eyes drop down to her lips now and he leans in just to kiss her lightly because he's much better at doing than speaking.

He pulls back and when he looks down at her looking at him with so much trust and love in her eyes he just has to say something too. But before he does he pulls her into his arms and into his heart. Then with his lips pressing onto her forehead he murmurs softly in the warmest tone he has ever managed to speak in, "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thank you so far for all the awesome reviews! I know I've responded to a few of you but this time around all I will make it a point to respond to every single person who leaves a review for this chapter.

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_"It's better to say too much;_  
_Then never say what you need to say again"_  
_Say by John Mayer_

She's humming under her breath as she strips the skin off a rabbit. He should find it distracting; he should really ask her to be silent so that he can focus on the space around them but all he feels as he stands there and stares out at the trees is calm. There was a time when he hated it; hated the distraction and wanted nothing more than for her to keep quiet so that he could return to the solitude silence of his mind. But these days now her humming is like a welcoming echo to match his wondering thoughts.

Her humming brings him back to the day she told him she was falling in love with him. He hadn't said it back to her. Nothing more than just an 'I know' because that was true, he knew. He saw it in her eyes; he was a fool sometimes but he wasn't that much of a fool to not notice it.

It's a little ironic now when he thinks about it; that it took the world to end for him to find something right in his life. He felt everything for her now; everything a man like him would have never felt if walkers had not taken over their world. Maybe he should thank the next walker he sees. The thought makes him scoff and he hears her shift. He looks to her now and she looks back at him curiously as if wondering what his scoff was all about.

"Somethin' on your mind?" she asks softly and he feels his heart beat a little faster.

"Nothin'," he shrugs but offers her the slight curl of his lip.

"Don' nothin' me now, Dixon," she mutters and peers at him now as if she knows what he's thinking about, "I know very well that nothin' definitely means somethin' so c'mon now, I'm listenin'…"

He shifts uneasily under her stare but he sees her lip curling and thinks maybe he should just tell her. Maybe he should just man up and do the right thing and say the things she deserves to hear. He glances away for the moment though. Not because her stare makes him uncomfortable; it does but he won't tell her that. He looks around to make sure a good radius around them is free of walkers before he looks back down at her.

They're a little ways away from the group skinning the rabbits so that the blood seeping from the rabbit doesn't attract any stray walkers. He figured as well that leaving the rabbit's discarded skins away from their camp was a good enough detour for the walkers who might stumble upon them at night. He had said for her to keep watch and for him to get his hands dirty. But she only slid her hand around the hilt of his hunting knife at his hip, unsheathed it before he could say anything and said quite dryly to him that her skinning skills were far better than his. He didn't complain because they were. Her hands were gentler than his and whenever she skinned them they always had a little more meat then they would have if he had skinned them. Not that 'just a little' was enough to make a difference but a little bit more meat amongst their large group was always welcomed nonetheless.

"Just thinkin'," he tells her and then sees from the way her eyes narrow that she isn't pleased with his response.

"'bout?" she pushes but her tone is soft and she looks away from him now to look back down at the third rabbit she is working on.

"Lot'sa things," he mutters and glances around the forest again. He can barely see their camp up ahead and he can sort of make out the familiar shadows of Rick and Abraham hovering over something. The others must be sitting or doing something else because he can't make them out.

He looks back at her and finds her peering at him again as if her looking at him like that is enough for him to actually come out with it. It is; but he's going to stall for a while because he wants to say this right. He doesn't want to mess this up. But then he sees something shift in her eyes; something flickers across her eyes as if she's just considered something.

"Is it 'bout what I said the other day?" she asks before he can say anything. Her tone he notices is quieter now than it had been before.

His eyes drop to the rabbit in her hands now that are still moving despite the fact that she's staring at him instead. She sighs when he doesn't say anything and he really isn't sure what to make of it. He looks up just in time to see her look away and back down at the rabbit in her hands. He wonders briefly if he's completely screwed this up without even having begun.

"You don' gotta say anythin'," she tells him softly and when he looks at her she continues, "I already know."

His heart he realises is beating now as if he's been running for days. He doesn't know why he's nervous; he's killed walkers with his bare hands and killed men without knowing who they were. He's been covered in brain matter, in guts and blood. He's seen it all and known it all and survived all of that. But here standing there before her gaze he quivers like a fool.

He lowers his eyes though from hers and to her hands again and admits quietly because he just has too before he says anything else, "I ain' ever gonna know what y'see in me."

"A whole great deal more than just a man with a crossbow," she tells him and his eyes meet hers again.

"What d'you see?" he asks before he even realises he's actually spoken.

But she doesn't get a chance to respond because the call of their names from their group up ahead snaps his eyes from hers to the group. He sees a bunch of walkers between him and the group. He sees Michonne in the distance with her blade drawn and her arms wide and telling the others to stay behind her. He sees Rick and Abraham too witht heir weapons drawn and beside her. They're eyeing the walkers in front of them. He counts at least eleven of them and he turns just in time to hear Beth gasp.

"C'mon," he mutters to her and she quickly packs away the rabbits in her pack. He bends to grab a bunch of those discarded rabbit skins and as he stands he sees her standing at his side. He doesn't waste another moment to start moving back to the others with her walking quickly at his side.

"Give me one," she mutters and grabs at one of the skins. He loosens his grip to let her slide one out.

"Throw 'em," he mutters to her and she does so and he follows suit.

The rabbit skins smack at least three of the walkers in their backs and they turn slowly to look at them. But the smell of the rabbit blood must be too enticing and the three of them are kneeling and beginning to paw at the skin.

It's disgusting and a little sad but it gives him ample time to close the distance between himself and the walkers. He reaches for the hilt of his knife at his hip but he finds it gone and he begins to turn to look for her. But when he does he catches sight of her arm flashing in front of him and he hears the familiar sound of the walker's head being stabbed.

He looks at her now in front of him and is slightly taken aback at her brashness. He feels a little intimidated but yet the look in her eyes has him feeling all warm again. He shakes the feelings away though because this isn't the time for that. This isn't the time for him to start feeling weak and thinking about those things again. He has to keep her safe; has to make sure that they live another day.

She stands properly now from where she had bent to knife the walker in the head and is about to hand him his knife back but he sees a walker behind her. He pulls her at his side and she stumbles and nearly trips but he steady's her with his hand which she pulls a little bit harder than he would have liked. But he pushes the sting of pain in his shoulder and shoves the corner of his crossbow into its head and knocks off a good portion of the walker's skull. The brain matter scattering every around has him wincing for a moment because it smells and he'll never really get used to that. He sees bits of it stuck at the corner of his crossbow and feels momentarily irritated.

But he has far more pressing matters to attend too right now than to think about how he'll have to spend some time cleaning his crossbow later. He feels her hand now settling on his hip and feels her pressing up behind him as he shoots at another walker who had just turned to look at them. He sees Michonne stabbing one and Abraham and Rick stabbing the last of the walkers. He manages to catch a quick glimpse of Glenn, Maggie and Tyrese hovering around the group just a little ways away with their weapons drawn.

He turns around now to check on Beth who he realises isn't pressing up behind him anymore. He turns just in time to see her stabbing a stray walker behind them in the head who had been pawing at one of the rabbit skins. He shouldn't find it arousing to see her stab the walker with his knife in her hand. But he does and he feels a little proud about it too.

"That was a little bit too close," Michonne says and he turns briefly to see her hovering with her bloody blade in her hand.

He nods while Abraham kicks at one of the walkers just to make sure that it was actually dead this time. Rick offers him a weary look as he lowers his crossbow to a more comfortable hold at his side. He turns now to his side to see Beth bending over one of the walker bodies and sees her pulling the arrow from its head. She turns and he can't help but smirk at her.

It takes them a while to drag and stack the bodies up together. But eventually they do and they leave it there and decide to move the group a little further away. The smell of the rotting walkers flesh wasn't going to do them any good at all. But at least they'll know that they'll be mostly alright tonight. The stench of those dead walkers would likely detour any other walkers off their trail.

He's sitting at their little campfire now and he briefly eyes Beth standing with Maggie in the distance. But his line of sight is cut short by Rick moving to sit beside him.

"You taught her how to use that knife well," Rick tells him.

"She knew the basics," he mutters and shrugs, "Just showed her what I knew."

He looks back down at the crossbow between his legs. He doesn't exactly want to be having this sort of a conversation with Rick. He didn't think he needed too after everything.

"She's good for you, you know," Rick says now and he inwardly cringes.

"Don' know what she sees in me," he mutters lowly and wipes the last of the blood away from the corner of his crossbow.

"I think she sees everythin' good that you will not admit to seein' in yourself," Rick tells him simply.

"S'that what Hershel would say?" he asks quietly and side glances at Rick.

"Maybe, maybe not," Rick mutters and adds after a moment, "But I'm willing t'bet that he's restin' a little easier knowin' it's you."

He looks back at his crossbow now and then looks to the flames. They sit like that for a while more in silence which is perfectly fine by him. But Rick's words echo in his mind though and after a while he tosses the scrap of cloth he had been using to clean his crossbow into the fire. He watches it curl and watches it burn into the flames.

He hears someone walking behind them but he doesn't turn to look. He figures it's just one of the others moving about the camp.

"She fussing about?" he hears Rick ask and sees the man from the side of his eye turning around.

"Yeah," Beth answers and he feels her now stepping up close behind him. He wonders briefly just when she had stepped around the camp without him even catching sight of her. He inwardly glares at Rick for the unwanted distraction, "Think she's lookin' for her daddy."

He sees Rick stand but doesn't bother to watch as the man coos to Judith. He hears Rick walk away though and feels a whole lot better now without the man sitting with him. He feels Beth sliding a hand onto his shoulder and he winces a little at the contact because it reminds him of how sore his shoulder actually is. He feels her hand flinch and he turns to look up at her.

"You okay?" she asks and looks at him with concern.

"I think I pulled on ya too hard earlier," he tells her as she steps in front of him practically blocking his view of the fire.

"Let me see," she says and begins to shift his crossbow to the side of him. She kneels in front of him between his legs and starts to unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt.

"S'okay, Beth, you don't have to," he tells her but he doesn't push her away or even try to stop her; doesn't know if he could even if he wanted too.

She gives him a look that clearly tells him to be quiet and he hears her murmur softly, "I want too."

As he feels her fingers treading lightly over his skin he is suddenly aware that the others are probably catching sight of this. But he is tired and he just can't find it in himself to bother all that much about what the others thought anymore.

She pushes his shirt back a little over his left shoulder and he sees her wince. He looks down at his shoulder now and sees a light purple bruising that'll likely look worse later on. He must have pulled on her a lot harder than he originally thought.

"Well," she begins softly and traces a finger lightly over his skin from the top of his shoulder down towards his chest over the forming bruise, "That's goin' t'be colourful in no time at all."

He slides his right hand now over hers and presses her hand there onto his heart. He doesn't really know why he's just done that but she keeps silent now and just looks at him. It makes him think back to what she said; that she saw a lot more to him than just a man with a crossbow. Maybe she saw a man that was just enough; a man that met her on every single level she wanted to be met at. Maybe she saw a man that didn't look the part and would never look the part but yet could love her in the sort of way she wanted to be loved. Maybe. But he would never really know; never really understand but yet know all at the same time. Maybe this was what loving someone was about. Maybe this was why Merle always told him feelings were pointless because no matter how hard he tried he'd never really get it.

Maybe that was the point.

He doesn't know; will never know and right now he realises that it's perfectly alright to not know. He didn't need an answer for this. He just needed to know that it felt right and this, here, looking into her eyes and feeling her warm hand pressing onto his chest feels more than just right.

He's never felt her touch him there before and there's a part of him that wishes they were somewhere quiet and private so that he could kiss her and lose himself completely in her. But then there's another part of him that's just perfectly content with being right here looking into her eyes and feeling her hand pressing into his chest.

"I've been thinkin' 'bout what y'said earlier," he starts softly.

"I didn' get a chance to finish," she tells him in the quietest tone he has ever heard her use yet.

He shakes his head and murmurs, "Don' have too," he pauses for a moment to just look at her again before he adds quietly, "I think I know now what you see."

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**A/N:** So… I thought long and real hard about how Daryl would be with trying to tell Beth that he is falling in love with her too. At the end of my half an hour of thinking about this very thing I decided it just wouldn't be a very Daryl thing to say at all. He's more of the sort that'll convey it by just looking at her and I think that Beth would know that and expect that too. Personally I always think conveying emotions in looks alone is far more touching than actually blurting things out but that's just me. I'm a little weird like that. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks again for all the awesome reviews so far!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Firstly I just wanted to say, wow and I'm really blown away that so many of you are enjoying this!... Your reviews are all awesome and I cannot thank you enough for all of them! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

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_"You'll know how it feels to want you and wait…"  
__Count Me In by Early Winters_

The water is perfectly still and the longer he looks at it the more he begins to think that there is nothing alive left in it. He watches as the rain drops into it though; each drop rippling a mini wave throughout its stillness. He glares at the pond for not having any fish in it for him to catch. He would have liked some fish; would have liked a steak too and some potatoes, sugar snap peas maybe? He didn't care. He'd even go for some sweet potatoes right now or carrots; anything other than rabbits, canned fruit or sardines or Carol's recent boiled roots experiment.

The others he notices don't seem to pay too much attention to the pond though and he suspects that they are all probably more concerned with trying to keep the space around them safe and free from walkers. He is too but it's raining and they've got a rope running from tree to tree with empty cans and jars hanging on it that'll sound out if any walkers walk into it. They weren't the only sound alerts he had setup anyway; he had traps here and there. There isn't really much that'll be able to even make it within visible distance without alerting him somehow.

It's a little tedious sometimes having to string it all down and stuff it in their respectable packs and have the others carry them around. But it keeps them safe and it gives him a peace of mind when he goes to sleep at night in the middle of the woods with Beth beside him. Her safety and the safety of their group is his top priority these days.

He glances to her now and sees her standing a step away from him leaning her back against the tree. She's looking straight ahead and at nothing in particular. But she's breath taking; even with the overcast and light rain falling around them. She's still beautiful and perfect in every way that he decides he prefers looking at her like this than looking any other way. Her hair is messy and hopelessly tied in a ponytail behind her and her clothes are dirty and had stains of blood at some corners. But the way she looks like that makes her seem more real and alive; natural and with nothing hiding away who she is.

She turns to him know as if she knows he is watching her and she offers him a little smile.

"Like what you see?" she asks.

He lets the corner of his lip curl and he knows the others are right there; know that they are all listening because nobody else is talking and they are all just sitting there. But he lets himself forget about them for a moment. He forgets about the rain, forgets about the fact that Rick and Abraham have tracked ahead for a change as they waited for them to return before packing up camp and starting their walk. They were usually on the walk by dawn but with the rain this morning and the ongoing showers throughout the day they decided to stay put. Rick and Abraham decided not to waste any time and went ahead to see if they could find them any shelter. He would have gone and she would have gone with him too. But Rick had simply told them to stay put and rest for a change. He didn't protest for once and she hadn't said anything either.

He pushes all those thoughts to the furthest point of his mind as he takes a step towards her and closes the gap between them. He leans in to her, stretches his uninjured shoulder and rests that arm over her head on the tree she's leaning on and he peers down warmly at her.

"A lot more 'n like," he mumbles so quietly to make sure that only she is able to decipher.

She smiles warmly up at him now and he leans in closer and closes his eyes just before he kisses her. Her lips are a cold and so he lingers for a moment to offer her a little of his warmth before he pulls away.

"Didn't think you a romantic, Dixon," he hears Maggie telling him and he turns briefly to his right over his arm that's leaning against the tree to see Maggie sitting with Glenn a few steps away.

"Yeah, well," he grunts but smirks all the same, "Best get used to it."

He sees Beth smile from the side of his eye and just before he turns back to look at her he hears Michonne.

"Who would've thought, huh?" he turns to his left now and sees Michonne smirking at them.

"Yeah, didn't think Daryl had it in him," Carl adds too and is smirking all the while at them.

"Leave him alone, all of you," Beth playfully tells them and he feels her hand sliding onto his hip and the other around his collar.

"But it's fun, sweetie," he hears Carol from somewhere behind him, "To watch him squirm around like that."

He turns back to Beth now and he mutters as he leans in to press his forehead against her shoulder, "If m'shoulder wasn't crook then I'd flip y'all off right now."

The warm laughter of their group behind him has him feeling a little bit better. Maybe not for a long time but it's nice nonetheless to have something to smile about when death surrounds them all the time now.

He feels her hand sliding around his waist and feels her pulling him close. He slides his sore left arm around her waist and winces at the stretch but eventually the pain resides. He holds her close and breathes her in and is thankful that the others have now found something else to talk about.

"This is nice," she murmurs in his ear and when he feels her warm breath lingering around his neck he feels warmer than he has since they started walking early this morning.

He hums in her ear in agreement but doesn't say anything. He savours the feeling instead of having her in his arms and he relishes in the thought that he is actually allowed to do this now; that he can snake an arm around her waist and pull her close whenever he wants. That he can kiss her and look at her and smile at her and crawl into the blankets with her at night when they sleep.

He feels the tree bark digging into his arm and he really shouldn't be stretching his shoulder like this. But holding her close and breathing her in has him forgetting about the pain for a while. He feels her breath on his neck too and this is new and nice and he hasn't really thought of this before but he does now for some reason. He feels her arm around his waist and the other curling around his neck and it leaves him feeling as though as if they've done far more than kiss and hug and sleep next to each other.

"Should do this more often," he tells her softly.

She doesn't get a chance to respond though when he hears the familiar crunching of leaves and the unmistaken footsteps of Abraham and Rick returning to their resting spot. He feels her arm tighten for a fraction of a second around his waist and he highly suspects that she has heard them too. He feels her hand sliding from around his neck but stopping to allow her fingers to play with the hair at the back of his neck for a moment. He sighs into her neck in response and decides to cross the boundaries for the briefest of seconds as he leaves a very light kiss on her neck before he pulls away completely.

It was probably far too intimate a thing for them to have done with the entire group there. But when he pulls away and turns and looks he realises that none of them were really looking at them anyway. Rick had already started speaking to Michonne and Abraham was passing a few words to Eugene and Rositia. The rest of them were focusing on Rick and presumably waiting on him to start speaking. But he catches Maggie's eyes though and she smirks slyly at him before turning and focusing on Rick.

He feels her move behind him and he turns briefly to look at her before he side steps and stands at her side instead. He leans against the tree she was leaning against moments ago and fights back the urge to smile when she leans into his side as if it were the most natural thing for her to do.

Rick turns to look at him now and he nods as if to let Rick know that he is ready and listening.

"Found a cabin up ahead but it's small," Rick starts.

"Was there any food?" Carl speaks up from where he is standing beside Michonne.

"Not a lot," Rick tells Carl and then side glances at Abraham.

"There's enough to go around," Abraham adds, "But not enough for it to be a feast."

"Cans?" he asks and they all turn to look at him then back at Rick.

"Cans of fruit and a couple jars of peanut butter too," Rick tells him.

"How far?" Glenn asks now but he has already stopped listening.

The thought of peanut butter brings him back to the house by the graveyard; the place where everything changed for him. He sees her in his mind now sitting by that piano as he lay in that coffin listening to her sing and play. He never really appreciated the sweet sound of her voice until then. But then everything fell apart; everything went to shit when those walkers pushed the door in on him. He remembers seeing that car driving away with her in it; remembers feeling his heart plummeting to his gut as he ran and ran until he couldn't anymore.

He feels her shift now beside him and it brings him back to here. He sees Rick still talking but not about the cabin and instead of the progress they have made so far to Washington DC. He listens but not as intently as he should.

"Don' think 'bout it," she tells him quietly and he feels his heart warm considerably when her words remind him of how in sync she really is with him.

He lowers his eyes to the ground and tries to steady his thoughts and pull himself back from those darker memories of days spent with Joe's group. He's glad that the others were still focusing on Rick and not on them. He didn't care so much for explaining or letting them know just why the thought of peanut butter struck a nerve in him.

"Hard not to," he tells her softly and feels her hand now sliding into his.

"I'm here, I'm okay," she says quietly and he hears her and listens and decides to push all those thoughts about that house to the back of his mind instead.

One day, he thinks, they will have to talk about it and he will have to tell her everything that happened. Maybe she'll even tell him about what went down with her and her kidnapper. She still hasn't told anybody and he respects that and respects her and knows that when she's ready she will tell him. But for now he listens to her and lets her warm voice echo in his mind. She is here with him and she is okay and that's all that really matters now.

It takes them a little while to pack up all their things and for him to pack up all the traps too. Carl tags along in silence and he appreciates it and offers the kid a slap on his shoulder when they're done.

As soon as they are done and as soon as they start walking she falls into step with Maggie. Usually he'd be by her side but this once he decided she probably needed some time with her sister. He had spent almost every moment by Beth's side now since Terminus and it was high time, he thought, that she spent some time walking with her sister. Glenn seemed to have sensed it too as when the two sisters walked together Glenn retreated and fell into step beside him.

He was uncomfortable at first and still was because Glenn was awfully quiet and hadn't said a thing since they started walking. He really wasn't in the mood for conversing and hoped and was still hoping that the man wouldn't say anything. They still quite a ways to go before they made it to the cabin according to what Rick had told him.

He tugs now uncomfortably at the crossbow sitting on his back. He winces when he pulls on his left shoulder and Glenn must have taken notice of it from the way the man side glances at him. He looks away now to the forest in hopes the man didn't catch him out.

"Shoulder still hurting?" Glenn asks and he sighs at the pleasant silence melting away from between them.

"'s alright," he mutters.

"I'm surprised Beth didn't yank your shoulder out from the way you tugged on her that day," Glenn tells him.

"Just wanted her t'be safe," he explains and doesn't really know why he is even explaining his actions to Glenn to begin with.

"It's comforting to know," Glenn notes softly beside him.

"What is?" he asks as he looks out at the forest again to make sure that there is absolutely no stray walker anywhere in the safe radius he mentally marked out around their group.

"That you'll die for her," Glenn says it so simply that it takes a moment for it to actually sink in.

He directs Glenn a look before he looks ahead at the back of Beth. He's never really thought about that before; never thought about what he would actually do if the occasion ever called for it. But thinking about it now and wondering and imagining all sorts of scenarios, he realises that it is true, he would die for her and he wouldn't even hesitate to do so either.

He knows that in normal circumstances had the world not gone to shit then making a vow like this would be stupid and childish. But after seeing everything he has seen and doing the things he has done, life just isn't that patient anymore to wait around for things to happen. He doesn't have the luxury to think about things he'd like to spend months thinking about. He doesn't have the time to linger and wait and watch things unfold.

They had to act on things now; all of them and not just him and not just Beth. All of the others all around them lived like it were their last because with death so close to them that was all they could do. Maybe it was wrong for him to think that he would die for her, maybe it was too soon and maybe he really shouldn't have let himself feel anything for her in the first place. But feeling and sharing all these things with her for the past few weeks has reminded him what it was like to live again.

It makes him wonder though that what if it was between the safety of their group or her, would he still choose her? Would he still die to only keep her safe and forget about everyone else? Would it be selfish of him to think that he would choose Beth every time?

"You know, if it ever came down to it," Glenn starts and he listens as he keeps his eyes peering all around the forest, "And I had to choose between the group or Maggie."

"It'd be Maggie every time?" he asks and side glances at Glenn.

"Just like it would be Beth for you," Glenn tells him.

"Don' that make us selfish?" he asks quietly.

"You don't think Rick would do the same for Carl or Judith?" Glenn asks innocently.

He doesn't say anything in response to that and he doesn't really get a chance to either. They were walking for a long longer than he thought because the next thing he knew the cabin was there in the distance. It doesn't take them long to make it to its door step and thankfully Glenn says nothing else.

It takes them a while to settle into the cabin. Rick was right though, it was much smaller than that shack they had found; the shack where Michonne had told them they were good together. It was a tight squeeze and almost nothing could have been said in that cabin without everyone hearing of it. But he was glad to have the cans of fruit and even the peanut butter. He was glad for the four walls, warmth and shelter from the rain that the little cabin provided.

But he finds himself now outside late in the night leaning against its walls and staring out at the forest. She is sitting with him with her arm curled around one side of the blanket while the other is curled around his own arm. They are taking the first watch for the evening which is always preferable for him as it means that he'll get a good solid few hours of unbroken sleep till dawn after their shift. She must feel the same too from the way she is humming quietly under her breath. She only every hums these days when she is happy about something.

Glenn's words echo in his mind now though and while it all makes sense to him it still makes him wonder. He knows that it makes him selfish to think that he would put Beth before everybody else and even Judith. But maybe it didn't have to get to that. Maybe he just wouldn't let it ever get to that. They as a group have made it this far already and they've survived everything that has been thrown at them. They've been on the run in the dead of winter with a pregnant Lori to finding the prison and clearing it out and fortifying it but only to lose it in the end. They've survived on the road apart and then somehow found their way all back together at Terminus.

Maybe with this group they could do anything; survive anything and live through everything. They all kept an eye on each other's back and they all haven't made it this far for nothing. They have made it here with a history of bloodshed and friendship and ties to each other that had now become far greater than just friendship. They were family. Every single one of them. Maybe not the scientist or the soldiers or Tara for that matter. But Rick was like a brother and then there was Carl and Judith, Tyrese and Carol, Glenn and Maggie and Beth. They were his family and whilst a he would always give first his life for Beth, he would still give his life willingly for the rest of them as well.

In the time it takes for him to think of all of that he realises now that their shift is almost over. He feels Beth stand beside him just as Maggie and Glenn push the door open and step out together. But just before he follows Beth into the cabin he stops short of the two of them.

He lingers for a moment as he tries to string his words together properly in his head. He wants it to sound right; wants Glenn to know what he is really saying without saying it all.

"We ain' ever gonna have t'choose," he says simply and sees that Maggie is looking at him oddly. He is sure that Glenn will explain it to her later.

He continues, "You and I, Rick and everybody else, we just won't let it ever get ta that…"

He sees the corner of Glenn's lip curl as he turns and steps into the cabin. He sees Beth standing near the back of the cabin which isn't all that far away from the front door. But she looks at him curiously and he knows she heard every word he spoke to Glenn.

"What was that all about?" Beth asks him softly when he nears her.

"Nothin'," he murmurs as he looks down at the blanket she has spread out on the floor.

"Don' you nothin' me again, Daryl," she mutters quietly and he smirks when she continues, "I'm listening…"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I've noticed a dip in reviews for chapter 5 and was beginning to think a few of you had given up on this (admittedly I have a very long updating routine so I understand why). But with the ton of follows/favourites I've been receiving I'm beginning to think I'm wrong because a lot of you actually seem to be following this. Let me know if you guys are continuing to enjoy the way I'm writing these chapters or if you'd prefer more action. Thanks though to the few who did review for chapter 5 :) though I always love hearing from you guys.

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"_Excuse me for a while  
__While I'm wide-eyed.  
__And I'm so down caught in the middle…"  
__Strong by London Grammar_

She releases the arrow and he watches it as it flies and hits dead centre on the little piece of cloth he stuck to a tree in the distance. He watches her carefully now and sees the way she stands there unmoving and staring as if she's struggling to believe that she actually did in fact hit her target. She doesn't jump around or squeal or laugh or say anything at all. She just stands there and stares, the crossbow still in her arms and her eyes still staring at the tree where the arrow is.

He says nothing, does nothing and doesn't move from where he stands leaning against the tree just a few steps next to her. He just stares at her and waits and keeps perfectly still until she turns to look at him. He watches as she lowers the crossbow to a more comfortable hold in her arms and his eyes drop down to her lips to see them curling into the brightest smile he has seen yet. He sees the way her eyes light up and the way they practically glow as she looks at him. She looks proud and happy and then her eyes soften again and warm and his heart melts now.

She takes a step toward him and as she does he wonders briefly just how it is even possible to feel so much for a single person in so little time. She closes the space between them though and brings her hand up to curl around his collar. He thinks of nothing now and only feels the way she leans into him and presses her body onto his. She kisses him lightly but sweetly and he feels the crossbow bumping into his side. He curls a hand around her waist and the other slides onto the side of her face.

He knows they shouldn't be doing this; knows it isn't safe to stop keeping watch around them when they're out here alone. But her warmth is inviting and he hears nothing shuffling and nothing groaning. He lets them have this moment; lets her kiss him and feels her smiling as she kisses him. She fits so perfectly in his arms and around him that he pulls her a closer and kisses her a little bit longer. She pulls away eventually but he leaves his arms around her and leaves his hand still pressing on the side of her face.

He feels her hand move and feels her fixing up his collar before he feels her finger combing his bangs away from his eyes. He smiles down at her and she smiles up at him.

"Was a good shot," he tells her and she grins wider at him.

"Thank you," she murmurs and moves to pull back and away from his arms. He crosses his hands over his chest again and watches her.

"A lucky one," he continues and smirks now when she scoffs at his comment and swats him on the chest.

She hits him a little harder than he expects and he winces for a moment from the contact.

"Sorry," she gushes and presses her finger gently on his still bruised shoulder.

"'s okay," he murmurs and smiles reassuringly.

"Yeah," she says and narrows her eyes but smiles all the same as she continues, "Don' think 'm going to let you off that easily for that comment, Dixon."

"Ain' afraid," he tells her and continues smiling when she glares.

She moves now to press the crossbow to the ground; she makes a face as she pulls the string back and attempts to load the next arrow. He watches her as she works and he listens when she continues.

"Y'should be," she mutters to him before she stands up straight and smiles triumphantly when she manages to successfully reload the crossbow.

He glances away for a moment to make sure the area around them is still safe and when he is sure it is he looks back at her and meets her gaze.

"I control the blankets remember," she reminds him and is smirking all the while.

He smirks along with her for a while until they hear something running. He makes a grab for the crossbow and she gives it up instantly as she too turns to look in the direction of the rustling leaves and footsteps. He feels her standing up close to him and sees the glint of her knife as she holds it low beside her but ready to strike.

"Don' see nothin'," he says and she hums in agreement beside her.

"There's somethin' though," she murmurs.

He looks further as the footsteps and rustling grow louder and as he looks down his crossbow he sees it and what he sees tugs the strings of pain he thought he had long buried. The boy is so small and so little but frail and frantic as he runs toward them. His little head is bobbing and his arms is wild and waving all around him as he runs and pushes and hardly keeps track of what is in front of him.

He makes a move to meet the kid half way and he sees her move beside him too. But when they near the kid they see at least three walkers behind him. He runs a little faster and she keeps up and when they're within distance he lets an arrow go and another. The kid runs past them somewhere in between and when he briefly looks back he sees the kid stop and stare at them. The kid looks barely more than four or five years old but he pushes that to the back of his mind for now. They have to clear the walkers and make sure the area is safe first before he can take a better look at the kid. He turns back around to see Beth down the third one. But as soon as she does she's moving again. He doesn't look out after her though but instead looks toward the direction where the kid came running from to make sure no other walkers were following.

He turns around when he is sure they are safe and when he does he sees Beth already kneeling there with her arms pulling the little trembling kid to her. He doesn't see any bite marks but the kid is shaking and crying and hiccupping. The sound of the kid sobbing leaves something heavy in his heart and as he turns to look down at the walkers he sees that they have only turned recently. His heart feels even heavier.

"'s okay," he hears her murmur, "You're alright… calm down… nothing is going to hurt you…"

It takes the kid a while before he stops and rubs at his eyes with the back of his dirty sleeve. The kid looks at Beth now from between teary eyes and he is so small and so tiny that Daryl wonders just how this kid even managed to get away. He can only imagine what this kid's story is but he knows this really isn't the place for them to be at. Walkers could be close; for all he knew the kid could have led a whole herd of walkers their way.

But the kid looks at the dead walkers behind them now and his tiny eyes start to water again.

"Mommy…daddy…" the little boy shrieks now and crumbles and pushes past Beth.

He moves just in time to press a hand to the kid's little chest and he mutters, "Boy, you can't."

The boy stops moving and looks up at him with wide eyes.

"It ain' safe," he tells the kid.

It feels like a lifetime; like hours and days and years pass right there as the kid looks at him and as he looks at the kid. He doesn't know why and probably never will either but when the kid crumbles again in tears he finds himself kneeling; finds himself holding the crossbow with one arm and the other pulling the little boy to him. He looks at Beth who moves to stand properly now. Her eyes soften again but not in the way they normally do when she looks at him.

"Do y'got someone lookin' for you?" he asks softly and feels the kid shaking his head.

"Mommy bit daddy," the boy hiccups into his shoulder, "And daddy…daddy told…told me to run…don't look back…"

He closes his eyes at those words because this kid has no one now; no one that this kid trusts and can depend on. He fights back the urge to punch a tree and instead curls that hand tighter around the little kid. He holds onto the kid for a while and lets the kid tremble and cry into his shoulder. He keeps his eyes on Beth though; tries to hold onto the softness in her eyes. Beth moves now though and she makes a reach for the crossbow and he looks at her gratefully when she pulls it from his arm. She kneels though at his side where he presumes the kid's face is facing. He sees her stretch a hand to touch the back of the kid's head and he feels the kid flinch for a moment before the kid settles.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"Ben," he mutters between hiccups.

"I'm Beth," she says, "And this is Daryl. You can come with us…"

He nods and murmurs, "We'll keep y'safe, kid."

They stay like that for a while and eventually when the kid's hiccups lessen he makes a move to stand and pulls the kid up with him. The kid is so small and light in his arms that he swears he is just carrying cloth or something. But he feels the kid breathing; feels the kid trembling and feels the kid's warmth seeping into his chest. He carries the kid as they make their way back to camp and it all feels so strange to him to be the source of comfort for this kid. To know that this kid actually willingly wants to be held by him, a complete stranger. Beth speaks soothingly as they walk and tells the kid about their camp; about little ass kicker and Carl, Rick and all the others. The kid says nothing but nods every so often at something Beth says. He continues to run a hand up and down the little kid's back and eventually he finds the kid stops nodding.

"Think he fell asleep," he murmurs to Beth.

They stop walking for a moment and he sees Beth moving to his side to check if in fact the kid's eyes are closed.

"Looks like it," she sighs as he turns to look at her.

"Daryl? Beth?"

They turn to see Glenn making his way over to them. Glenn takes one look at the kid in his arms and then at Beth.

"Don' wake 'im," he says and Glenn nods.

"What happened?" Glenn asks softly.

"He came running at us," Beth explains and sighs, "There were a few walkers behind him…"

"They were his parents," he finishes.

The pain he sees flash in Glenn's eyes are evident and he too feels it as well. But he pushes those feelings aside for now and moves because all he really wants to do is get this kid back to the camp.

"C'mon," he murmurs now and glances at Glenn and Beth as he walks past them. "Let's go back to camp."

They arrive at the camp not too long later and when they do all eyes are on them and everyone stops moving.

"He ran into us," is all Beth says before she pushes past them and makes a grab for their blanket. She throws it around the kid and a little around him too as Rick steps toward them to inspect the kid.

"He wasn't bit," he says as if knowing what the man is about to ask.

Rick looks at him and nods, "He got anyone?"

He shakes his head and Beth answers, "They already turned…"

"Had t'kill 'em," he sighs.

He sees from the side of his eye that the rest of the camp is moving again. He sees Glenn digging around his bag for a spare blanket and sees Carl do the same but for a chocolate bar instead. Carol hands Judith off to Tyrese and moves to the fire to get it going again. Michonne, the scientist and the two soldiers and Tara take up watch and before he knows it he's sitting by the fire with a blanket thrown around the kid that's still clinging to him and fast asleep.

"Think he's going to be okay?" Beth asks quietly from where she sits beside him.

He looks into the fire for a moment before he answers, "Seems like a tough little kid…"

"Want me to hold him?" she asks and he shakes his head.

"'s okay…I've got him," he murmurs and slides a hand he had around the kid to hold onto her hand.

They settle the kid near the fire after the sun sets and he stays close by with his crossbow in his lap and his eyes carefully running over its tunings to make sure it's still in good shape after Beth's training lessons earlier. He figures the kid will wake soon and figures the kid would feel better if the kid saw both him and Beth right there with him. They were the only people the kid knew now and the last thing he wants is for the kid to start wailing hopelessly when he wakes to a bunch of strangers staring at him.

He looks over at Beth now; she's working quietly by the fire with Carol, the two of them skinning the rabbits they caught earlier before roasting the meat over the figure. He glances over at the little kid and sees his little body surrounded by their blanket. It seems so strange to him to see the kid sleeping with their belongings; for a moment it almost seems like he is being granted a little glimpse into a future where they actually had a kid. But he pushes those thoughts away for now because that isn't right and mostly because they haven't even done anything remotely more than kissing and hugging.

"How old do y'figure he is?" he asks and Beth turns briefly to look at him. She glances over at the kid too and considers his question for a moment.

"He looks about four," she murmurs.

"Ain' gonna be easy for him for a while," he tells her and he sees Carol throw him a look.

"Might be best if the two of you stay close to him," Carol tells them as she skins another rabbit.

"Thought so too myself," he mutters.

Beth nods in agreement and that pretty much settles it. She turns back to the fire though and Carol returns to skinning the rabbits too. He glances over at the little kid again and sees his golden brown hair and his little features so full of innocence. His little head is resting on one of Beth's spare jackets and his little arms are curled around one of Judith's spare teddy bear. There is nothing he can do now to make things any easier for the kid. But he promises quietly in the back of his mind that he really isn't going to let anything ever hurt the little kid or Beth or any of them for that matter. He sighs as he glances back down at his crossbow and spends a while making sure each arrow is still strong and sturdy.

It isn't long until he sees the movement and sees the little kid pushing the blankets away and looking around. He sees the fear in Ben's eyes but then he sees it slowly seep away when the kid sees him sitting there. But the little kid's face starts to crumble and he sees the tears start falling and before he knows it he's laying his crossbow to the ground and kneeling and the kid is standing up and clinging onto him as he holds the kid close and lets the kid cry into his shoulder again.

"'s okay," he soothingly mutters as Beth starts to move too and stops when she sees him holding onto the kid, "You're safe now."

Ben clings onto him and he winces at the pressure the kid is pressing into his still bruised shoulder. He pushes the pain away though and holds the kid tightly to him.

"I want my mommy," Ben sobs softly into his shoulder, "and my daddy."

"I know," he whispers and looks up to see Beth looking at him now, "They're somewhere better now…"

Ben cries for a while and with every tremble and every tear he feels his heart breaking; feels his soul reaching out for this kid. But he sees Beth look at him and sees the warmth in her eyes and it makes him feel a little bit better. Ben pulls away not too long later when Beth says she needs his help to poke the fire with some sticks. Ben only too eagerly goes to help her and for a while he looks all boyish and young and even a little bit happier for a while as he pokes the fire with some sticks with Beth. She has a way with kids; has the ability to make them forget and enjoy the moment for a change. He looks over the two of them and sees Carol smiling at him and at them.

The kid looks back at him though every so often and for a while he wonders why. But when the others start to gravitate toward the fire when the coolness of the night starts to set in the kid gravitates closer to him and that is when he sees it. The kid seems to only trust Beth and him but him more so than anything and the thought pulls on the strings of his heart again. Maybe he really has gotten a lot softer and emotional since accepting all these feelings he felt for Beth. Maybe that was what the kid sensed. Maybe. But he doesn't think about that now, doesn't care to ponder upon it as the kid sits on his lap and quietly chews on some rabbit meat.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you for all the wonderful reviews for chapter 6! They were awesome and they totally made my day! :)

On other news I think it is finally time to actually state the location in which each chapter is based in. This one (chapter 7) is based in Blacksburg, Virginia. I've actually been keeping track of where they have been in each chapter but I realise now that I haven't actually explicitly stated it in the previous chapters… my bad. And if you were wondering why they were always in a forest it is because they mostly have been in a forest. According to Google Maps, there's quite a stretch of green from near Atlanta all the way to Washington DC… so it's mostly going to be forest galore for a while with a few exceptions when they decide to venture out for supplies.

Also, I've roughly spaced each chapter out by a week. So by now they've been on the road for 7 weeks already. This is where my calculations go wonky because I've never had to walk the sort of distance that sits between Macon, GA and Washington, DC so I made an educated guess (with more help from Google Maps). I figured that 7 weeks is roughly an alright estimate for them to have made it so far to Blacksburg, Virginia. Let me know what you guys think if that's a reasonable guess-timate!

Anyway, now that all of that housekeeping is out of the way I shall stop and let you read on enjoy. :)

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"_It's not just something you take–it's given…"  
__Stay by Rihanna_

Blacksburg, Virginia. It's the furthest he has ever been in his life and once upon a time the thought would have scared him. But now he has better things to be afraid off; now he has things that are out of his control and things that could hurt him in the greatest way he could ever imagine. The thought shifts his mood and the cloudy grey skies don't help either. But he looks at her hand now in his and his eyes glaze over that arm and over that shoulder and to her. She's looking ahead and they're walking again. She isn't humming which is new and different but it's okay because he knows why.

He looks ahead for a moment to keep track of where they are and the others and makes sure there are no walkers anywhere near them. He doesn't see any and he feels a little better and looks down now to see the little kid walking next to him. The kid bumps into his side every so often as they walk and sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's annoying but most of the time it reminds him that it isn't just Beth and the others that he's looking out for anymore.

This kid has only been in his life for a week but already the kid sticks by him and follows him around and looks at him as if he deserves that sort of a look. It's nothing like the way Beth looks at him but at the same time it is. It's innocent and real and full of life.

The thing that makes the two of them different to him is the fact that when Beth looks at him his heart warms and his entire world becomes hers. He sees all of her and he knows she sees all of him too. He sees everything in her; he sees words unspoken and whispers of thought and he just knows everything that she is thinking and feeling. But with Ben it's different. In Ben's eyes he sees himself staring back at him. He sees a boy wearing the scars of a man; a boy that has nothing but will still try to make something of his little life.

The kid still cries; still wakes most nights crying into his shoulder and whispering longings for a mother and father that were long gone. He knows and understands and feels what the kid is going through. The pain, the anguish and need for that familiarity to return and to be there where he wants it to be. His father was never kind to him but that didn't mean he didn't know how to want it anyway.

He looks to Beth now and looks to Ben and thinks that even though he's known one for only a week and known the other for a while longer, they have become his family. Not the family that Rick or Carol or the others were to him but the kind where he could have been called daddy and husband. He sees all of his life stretched out before him now and sees the things he would do for Beth and for Ben. He would do anything and be anything for them and really that is what scares him.

He knows that every step he takes is one step further from Georgia. But nothing like that matters now like the way they matter to him. The things that he feels for the two of them scares him and not for the reasons that are right but for the reasons that he should really think more about the rest of their group; the rest of his family.

He glances now briefly to the left of him to see Rick walking with Michonne, the two of them talking quietly as they walk. He looks a little ways behind and sees Carl behind them carrying little ass kicker and listening intently to something Carol is telling him. Tyrese is there walking with her too. He glances a little ways ahead now and sees Glenn and Maggie, she's laughing quietly at something Glenn says. He sees Abraham walking with them and Eugene following close behind with Rosita and Tara.

These are the people he lives to keep safe every day; these are the people he's risked his life for so many times that he lost count so many months or years ago, it doesn't even matter anymore. It matters that they are still here with him and he would do it all again if it meant that he'd be able to keep them all safe. But then he considers it now as they walk that if there was a chance that the shit hit the fan and it all went down, he would save her and the kid every time.

He told Glenn that he wouldn't let any of that happen; that they didn't make it this far to let something like that ever tear them apart again. But when that kid came running toward him and Beth a week ago and when that kid trembled and cried in his arms he just wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe that made him selfish. Maybe this meant that he really wasn't as good of a man as he thought he was becoming. He doesn't know.

He looks ahead now though and sees in the distance the bobbing of heads and he smells the unmistaken smell of rotting flesh. He pushes all those thoughts to the back of his mind and presses a palm onto Ben's little chest and holds the boy close to his side. The others see them too and Beth lets go of his hand and reaches for her knife. He wants to reach for his crossbow, wants to pull it up and look down it but the kid is next to him and he really can't keep the kid close and load his crossbow at the same time. He reaches for his knife instead and holds it in front of him and waits for Rick to make the call.

They could cross around; could climb the trees and wait it out. But from the looks of how many there are he doesn't think they would really stand a chance going around them. They would see them moving; would hear their footsteps and it would be safer to just kill them all anyway. Rick must have seen the look in his eyes because the man gives him a nod before he says it.

"C'mon," Rick says to them and Abraham is the first to take charge with Tara close on his heels.

Rosita hangs back a little with Eugene and Glenn and Maggie move past them to join Abraham and Tara. Michonne moves next with Rick and Tyrese. He briefly sees Carol moving quickly now behind him and Beth and sees her making a reach for the kid.

"Go with Carol," he tells Ben but the kid doesn't budge, doesn't move and refuses to let his sleeve go now.

"Wanna stay with you," Ben mutters quickly in his little voice.

He looks down and when the kid looks at him his entire world and everything just stops. No kid has ever looked at him like that before and the look throws him off. He shouldn't let any of this happen though; shouldn't let his focus be thrown off so easily by a look from a kid. But it does and it frightens him.

He pulls back to reality as quickly as he left it and sees Beth now moving ahead of him and sees the others ahead of them already burying their knives in the walker's heads. He should be beside Beth; should be protecting her and keeping her safe too. But he's behind here with the kid. The whole thought scares him and suddenly all he knows is that they need him out there. He pushes Ben now into Carol and the woman looks at him wide eyed when he does. But Ben makes a reach for his sleeve.

"Stay with Carol, Ben," he says quickly and the kid crumbles but lets his sleeve go. "I gotta help them."

He sees Carl now sliding his hand around the kid and pulling the kid close to him.

"'s okay, Ben," Carl says and the calmness in Carl's voice throws him off too. "I won't let anything hurt you."

The kid doesn't let go of his sleeve though and it takes all the will in him he musters to kneel for the briefest of moments.

He says it simply and unhurried, "I promise I'll be back…but I 'ave t'help them now…okay?"

The kid looks at him for a moment before he nods slowly and lets his sleeve go. Ben looks at him through teary eyes but he looks away now and scans the area for Beth. He sees her near Glenn and Maggie and he runs to them. He swings his crossbow up in his arms and loads it and lets an arrow go and another and another. Beth turns briefly to look at him and her eyes are all warm and soft for a fraction of a second before they harden when she looks back at the walkers.

There's a herd of them and they move and huddle and groan mostly together. Abraham cuts most of them in half and Michonne is right there helping him. Rick takes a few from the sides and Tara assists as well. Glenn and Maggie move away from where they are to take on a few stragglers at the side.

He stays near her side though; keeps an eye on each walker he kills and the other on her back. He'll die before she gets bitten and that's a promise, a vow and even a declaration too. She stabs here and there and struggles at times to pull her knife out of their heads but she manages and he lets her do her thing. He lets arrow after arrow fly and some catch a few walkers that are far too near to her for his liking. But he never interferes and he doesn't pull her at his side anymore or try to protect her from everything; she wouldn't want him too and he respects that.

They clean up the herd almost as fast as the whole fight began but they're scattered around the small area with bodies around them. The stench is great and bad and he hates it. But his eyes are on her now and she has her back to him and is bending and wiping her knife on one of the clothes of a dead walker. She turns when she is done and he keeps his eyes on her. She looks tired and there are a few more stains of blood splatter on her shirt. She looks well in tact to him and not bitten or hurt anywhere and it lets him breathe a little easier.

He looks away for a moment to scan the bodies for his arrows and when he sees the closest one he bends to retrieve it.

"'s gonna be a problem," he says to her quietly as he pulls his arrows from the walker's heads.

"What is?" she asks and goes to pull an arrow out of another walker's head too.

"Ben," he tells her, "He wouldn' let me go…"

"Ain' nothin' wrong with that," she says softly and he gives her a look.

"It is when you're killin' 'em and 'm not beside you keepin' an eye on y'back," he admits quietly and looks away for a moment.

"'m fine," she smiles confidently at him, "I didn't get bit right?"

The thought of it makes him sick and he stops everything he is doing and just stands there and stares at her. He wants to vomit, he wants to run away and he wants everything to just disappear. He wants to put her on the highest shelf, the highest tower or ladder or anything really that would put her somewhere else other than here on the ground with all these walkers. She turns and he is sure that she sees the thoughts in his eyes because her eyes soften and warm.

She reaches for him, curls a hand around his collar and murmurs in the softest voice, "I ain' gonna let nothin' get me…"

He looks at her now and feels everything she makes him feel hit him like a wave. He leans into her warmth and she meets him half way and they're kissing and standing next to a pile of dead walkers. It's the last place he wants to be doing this sort of a thing. But the kiss is short and chaste and he really needs it right now. He really needs that to remind him that she is okay; that she is still here and still with him. She pulls back and he keeps his eyes on her.

"Not after everythin' we've been through," she tells him simply, "Y'know that…"

"_You and I, Rick and everybody else, we just won't let it ever get ta that…"_

He hears his own voice now in his head; hears his promise, the one he made to Glenn. Maybe this was what he was missing all along. Maybe that was what Glenn was really trying to tell him. He couldn't ever try to protect them all. He couldn't ever manage to keep an eye on every single one of them. But maybe that was alright. Maybe keeping his eye on Ben and on Beth was the right thing to do. Maybe Hershel would be proud and maybe Maggie would commend him on it too. He trusted Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Carol and all of the others with his life so maybe he could trust in them all to fight for their lives too.

This time is so much more different from the time they were together as a group before the prison. This time they've all seen things they'd rather not have seen. They've done things they would never talk about. But they have lived and survived and were here. He lost her and she came back to him and here she was now looking at him all blue eyes and soft and warm. He had her heart and soul and everything else she offers him every time she looks at him. He had that little boy too; had his little brown eyes looking at him as if he were a hero. Maybe he could be one. Maybe he already was one. For them, for her and for Ben, he would try and that was perfectly okay.

"Okay," he murmurs and he sees her eye light up for a second.

She doesn't smile though but she murmurs a simple and solid, "Good…"

He lets a moment pass and looks to see the others all bending and talking amongst themselves and cleaning their weapons on the bodies.

"What 'bout Ben?" he asks softly as he turns to look at her again.

"Be patient with him, Daryl," she tells him softly, "He trusts you like he would his own daddy and I don' see why you shouldn' let him."

Her words echo in his head until later on in the day and when they're further away from those dead walkers. The forest thins out as they near Blacksburg and when they finally hit the road they find a little row of houses. He is on edge when he steps foot on concrete and scans the street for any signs of life; not the dead kind that walked but the kind that could kill and hurt his family in ways he didn't want to imagine. But he sees nothing other than the stray walker or two straggling around.

He feels a little bit better but he feels Beth closer to him now and feels the kid bumping even more into his side as they walk. He holds tightly onto his crossbow in front of him and he sees Beth hold her knife out too. He looks over to Rick and the man motions ahead toward the house they're heading for. It's a corner home all white and blue lines. It's taller than the others but seems to look well-built and still well intact. There are a few cars around the street but they all looked wrecked and old and as if they'd been sitting there for years already.

They move to the back of the home deciding instead it was safer for the others to wait out in the back while a few of them cleared the home out. He lets the kid walk in front of him with Beth and he follows close behind and the others follow suit. Abraham leads them to the small backyard that is thankfully fenced and free of walkers. But the grass is tall and the weeds are unending. There's a shed too and the backyard sees over the forest. They're going to need two pairs to keep watch if they were going to stay here for the night.

They huddle up behind by the back door. He sees Tyrese hovering with Carol and Judith in her arms. He sees Rick turning now from around the corner with Carl, both of them with their weapons drawn and their faces serious and ready to take on anything. Abraham towers over them all and Eugene is quietly staring at the shed. Tara is talking quietly over something with Rosita and Michonne is looking at the door as if she could see through it. Beth is on his left now and he sees her standing there with both her hands thrown over Ben's shoulders. The kid eases into her and even leans back onto her as they stand there.

Rick moves past them and Carl follows close behind. They step up on the first step toward the door with Michonne. Carl follows close and for a moment Rick turns and looks at Carl as if he wants to say something. But Carl must have thrown his father a look because the next thing Rick does is turn and continue moving up the steps.

"Comin'?" Michonne turns and looks to him.

He starts to move but he feels Ben's little hand curling around his sleeve. He stops and looks down at the kid and is about to say something.

"'s okay," Abraham mutters and he feels the man's rough hand on his shoulder. Abraham looks at him knowingly and offers him the briefest of smiles before muttering, "I'll go…"

He stares for a moment before he nods respectfully and lets the soldier pass. He watches them walk up the steps and sees Rick turn to nod once at him. He nods in return and watches until they open the door and walk in. He looks around now to make sure that they're still safe and while he does he feels a little hand sliding into his. He lets the kid hold onto his hand and he closes his fingers and holds onto that little hand too.


	8. Chapter 8

"_I'm not you, nor you me  
__But we're both moving steady."  
__Resolution by Matt Corby_

A twig snaps under his boot and he pauses, halts his step and looks to her and sees her throw him a look. He smirks under her gaze and she looks as if she considers it for a moment before she smiles too and his heart warms all over again. She looks away though back in front of her to whatever it is that she is tracking and she starts to move again. He follows but keeps his eyes on her; watches as she carefully takes each step, slowly and steadily, calculated and precise as if every step counts; it makes him proud.

But something small bumps ever so lightly at his side and it throws him for a second and then completely when he remembers that Beth isn't the only one that's out here hunting with him. He looks around them for a brief moment and lifts a hand to push back a few branches as they walk and once he is sure the area is safe and free of walkers he looks down.

The kid is all light footed and quiet footsteps and he doesn't know why but he feels proud about that too. Maybe he doesn't deserve to be; maybe that isn't even something he is supposed to feel. But the kid blends in so easily with him and Beth that sometimes he just forgets that the kid doesn't even belong to them. The kid's stuck by the two of them since the day the kid came running at them; hardly leaving his side and whenever the kid did he'll look around and see the kid with Beth instead. He knew that it wasn't because the kid didn't trust the others; it was just something about him and about Beth that the kid sees and knows and understands and just wants to be next too all the time.

He gets what the kid sees in Beth; he sees it and feels that too every day and every time she looks at him all soft eyes and glowing. But he doesn't get what the kid sees in him; doesn't understand why this kid seeks to mostly follow him everywhere he goes now. Maybe Beth was right; maybe the kid just saw him and saw someone the kid could trust like the kid did his own daddy.

He doesn't even know why he is thinking about things like this; doesn't even get why his mind is going along with this thought at all. He supposes that maybe this is what feeling all these things for Beth does to him; makes him soft, makes him kinder and makes him see a whole lot more of everything. Maybe that's what feelings really did to a man.

The thought leaves him smiling but the look he sees in the kid's eyes has him thinking again. He sees the seriousness and determination and quiet innocent observation. He's never seen the kid look any other way and he figures that maybe this is the way the kid takes things in and thinks and considers before the kid decides on anything. Maybe that's what growing up in this shit of a world did to a kid. He doesn't know but what he does know is that he grew up like that too. Maybe that's how he looked too when he was a boy and maybe that's still the look everyone sees when they look at him.

He lets all those thoughts settle now and looks back up again to gather his bearings. He sees Beth in the distance; sees her prowling for something ahead of her. He sees the determination in her stance and knows that absolutely nothing is going to tear her away from that focus now. He'll have to speak to her about that later; that sometimes she needs to chance it if something else crosses her path because maybe it might just be a better catch than the one she was originally hunting for. But he feels a little hand now sliding into his and he decides to push that thought to the back of his mind.

He glances down at Ben now and asks quietly, "Y'alright?"

The kid looks up at him and momentarily looks taken aback but then pulls himself altogether and offers him a little firm nod and then finally a smile. It's unexpected but he welcomes it because though it's the littlest of smiles it's still there and he sees it and holds onto it.

"Sure?" he presses gently but offers the kid a smile too.

"'m tired," Ben admits finally in that soft voice that only he and Beth have been an audience too so far.

He looks ahead at Beth and sees her a little ways away from them now. He frowns at the distance but sees the way she is keeping a look out around her and prowling all at the same time and it leaves him feeling only a tiny bit better.

He glances back down at the kid and considers it for a moment before he turns and bends and lowers an arm and mutters, "C'mon."

The kid doesn't even protest and just takes his hand and arm and curls a little hand around his neck and settles in his hold. He slides an arm around the kid and it feels like he's hugging Beth but yet not quite because this kid is so small and tiny. He settles his chin on the kid's little shoulder and the kid does the same but on his shoulder instead. He smiles for no particular reason and moves a little faster now to catch up to Beth.

"What's Beth tryin' t'catch?" Ben asks him softly.

"Somethin'," he tells the kid, "She seems pretty serious 'bout whatever she's tracking."

"Maybe a deer?" Ben suggests.

"Don' think so," he says but quieter now.

"Rabbits?" the kid says a little bit too enthusiastically.

"Y'not sick of rabbits?" he asks quietly now as he sees Beth kneeling and staring dead set into a bush with the crossbow drawn and level with her eyes. He slows now and gives her some space and watches as she breathes in and out and stares down the crossbow.

"They're tasty," Ben tells him.

"We've had them almost every night," he murmurs.

The kid says nothing in response and he takes that opportunity to look over at Beth. He sees her drawing level with something in the bushes; sees her aim and sees her arm tense.

"Daddy never caught anythin'," the kid says softly just as Beth releases an arrow.

He hears the familiar sound of the arrow hitting its target but his mind isn't focusing on that right now. He doesn't know what to say to this kid; doesn't even know what to do or what to offer or what to promise either. He listens instead because that's all he knows how to do right now.

"And mommy didn' know how to hunt either," the kid finally murmurs.

He sees Beth string the crossbow around her neck; sees her push it around till it's on her back before she bends and pulls whatever it is the arrow had struck in the bushes. He sees her stand, sees that proud look on her face just as the kid declares.

"But that don' matter now…cause when I grow up I'm gonna learn how to hunt just like you and Beth."

His heart tightens at those words and he feels the warmth Beth fills his heart with slowly seeping away. But Beth looks at him now all soft eyes all beautiful and ethereal under the curtain of sunlight through the trees. The kid's words still echo in his mind though but at one look at her he feels the warmth coming back to him. He feels the kid's arm tighten around his neck and everything right then just stops.

He feels everything; feels everything she feels as she stands there and looks at him with his crossbow at her back and the dead rabbit in her hands. She's looking at him as if she knows; as if she heard what Ben had said. Maybe she sees it in his eyes; maybe she sees something troubling him and maybe she'll ask him about it later. Right now though he sees how proud she is but he isn't really sure if it's because of the rabbit in her hand or whether it's him. He can't imagine why her looking at him could make her proud. He wasn't doing anything for her to be proud off. But he sees her move now; sees her offer him a smile and sees the glow in her eyes.

He meets her half way and still holds onto this kid as he stops just a step or two away from her and looks down at the rabbit. It isn't huge but it isn't small either and none of that really matters because she's just caught dinner and that matters more. He meets her gaze again.

"Y'did good," he says and she smiles again shyly this time at him.

"Nah…wasn' nothin'," she mutters as Ben starts to turn around in his arms.

"Darlin', y'got us dinner…that ain' just nothin'," he murmurs and she smiles a little warmer now.

"Looks like a fat bunny," Ben comments softly with a little ghost of a smile.

Beth smiles even more now and reaches a hand out to brush the kid's hair back. She murmurs, "'m gonna cook it good later… y'can help with the fire again if you want."

"Really?" the kid smiles a little more now.

"Of course," she murmurs and looks to him for a brief moment before she looks back at the kid, "Y'can be the flame keeper again."

"Yeah," he interrupts and the kid looks to him, "Gonna 'ave to help me collect 'em sticks though."

"Okay," Ben agrees in the softest tone. He sees the kid's eyes light up though and he finds it a little cute but finds the look in Beth's eyes warming his heart again. These two have him completely wrapped around their little fingers and he finds that he doesn't really mind.

The walk back to camp is slow and quiet and Beth tracks ahead again while he hangs back with the kid. He gathers some sticks as they move and the kid does the same. But he ends up carrying twice as much and the kid only manages a bunch. He gives the kid some credit though because those little arms can only manage so much. It makes him smile all the same though.

The camp is all quiet and sedate when they navigate through those traps to the heart of the camp. He sees Rick in the distance standing off the side with Michonne talking quietly about something. The man gives him a nod and he nods in return. Carol seems to be catching up on some sleep and Tyrese is hovering near by with little ass kicker sleeping in his arms. He figures they must have first watch because he was pretty sure it wasn't his and Beth's turn tonight. He sees Carl flipping through some pages of a comic or magazine or something not too far off from where Rick's standing with Michonne. But it's Maggie's eyes that catch him and holds him right there in her gaze.

Beth sees it too and slows and he slows beside her; the kid walks completely into the back of his thigh. He looks behind momentarily and the kid looks sharply up at him before moulding around his side and looking up at Maggie instead.

"Catch much?" Maggie asks and he sees Glenn now hovering at the side with some logs in his hands as well. They must have thought of starting up the fire as well.

"Just a rabbit," Beth tells her.

"A really fat one," the kid adds and he raises a brow and looks down at the kid.

The kid only talks freely with him or Beth but never with the others; never unless asked a question and it's surprizing but promising. He sees something glaze over in the kid's eyes and the kid must have realised because immediately the kid shy's behind at the back of his leg. The sticks are poking into the back of his knee and it's a little bit uncomfortable but he figures the kid really needs something to hide behind so he ignores it and looks back up to Maggie instead. He gives her a look and he figures Beth gives her sister one too because Maggie looks to him and to Beth and then very barely nods.

"That's good to hear," Maggie nods now all serious and business like and throws him a look, "So, only a rabbit?"

"Ain' a master hunter yet," Beth sighs and he smirks.

"Can' say I'd agree with that, darlin'," he reassures her and adds, "'sides, Ben and I were busy collectin' sticks to help her with trackin'."

Beth smiles warmly at him before she looks back at Maggie and continues, "Well…Ben's right, the rabbit's is pretty fat so it might just be 'nough t'go around."

She glances down behind him now at the kid and he figures the kid must be smiling at her too. He reaches behind him with his free hand and balances the sticks in his other hand.

"C'mon, kid," he mutters and looks behind him and slides that hand onto the kid's little shoulder, "Let's get the fire started for Beth."

He turns to look at Beth briefly and catches her soft eyes looking at him again. He smiles a little and knows that Maggie is right there and staring but that doesn't really bother him anymore.

"Here…I'll skin 'em," he slides the hand he has around Ben's little shoulders and makes a reach for the pack hanging at her side.

She shifts and he sees the crossbow bobbing up and down on her back. He almost forgot about that.

"Looks better on you," he murmurs as she pulls the pack over her head. She stills mid-stretch for a moment before she realises what he is saying and starts to move again. He smiles and she shakes her head at him as she hands the pack to him.

"I'll be right along in a bit," she tells him and he nods.

The kid stands there looking a little out of place and trying to avoid looking at Maggie. But he nudges the kids little back with his knee and he offers Maggie a nod before he starts to make his way to the place where the fire will be with the kid following close at his side. He hears Glenn following behind and he glances back to the man.

He sees the two sisters huddling close to each other in quite whispers and all he manages to hear as he walks further away from them is, "-like twins…"

"They whisper like birds," Glenn comments and he looks to the man and smirks.

"'m still tryin' to get used to the gigglin'," he mutters and is met with Glenn's grin.

It doesn't take long to set the fire up and when it is he finds himself sitting there now on a log skinning the fat rabbit. Glenn doesn't stick around for too long though; mumbled something about wanting to catch an hour or two of some shut eye before his and Maggie's watch later on in the night. He keeps an eye on the kid every so often though; sees the kid sitting cross legged on the ground next to a pile of those small sticks they collected earlier.

He glances back at the rabbit meat in his hands now and moves to stack them neatly on the rock ready for Beth to cook later. He wipes his hands off on a spare rag and wipes the knife clean too. He piles the skins together and it looks messy and bloody but he figures the kid is used to that by now from all the time this kid spends with him and Beth.

He nudges the kid's little shoe with his boot and the kid shifts and moves and turns to look at him.

"Y'okay?" he asks as he stabs his knife into the ground now by his shoe.

The kid nods and starts to move to stand. The kid is so tiny and so small that even as he sits on that log this kid barely is the same height as him.

"Hungry?" he asks and the kid shrugs.

"Not really," Ben tells him and moves to sit on the log next to him.

The kid leans a little into the side of his leg and rests an elbow on him too. He finds the whole thing cute and when he hears footsteps nearing them he looks up and sees Beth looking at him and then the kid. She's smiling and looking from him to the kid all soft eyes and glowing again.

"Gettin' cosy by the fire without me, huh?" she mutters playfully and directs it more to the kid than him.

He side glances at the kid and sees the kid smiling a lot easier now. He looks back to Beth and meets her eyes and finds that he's smiling and feeling a whole lot warmer too.

* * *

**A/N: **Not as long as I would have liked this chapter to be but with all things considered I think I've managed to cover everything I wanted to cover in this chapter. Hopefully you guys aren't too mad/disappointed with this chapter due to the lack of Beth/Daryl moments :( . I promise there'll be more in chapter 9!

Also, thanks for all the awesome reviews for chapter 7…They really, really, really made my day!


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